Top Wall Street analysts pick these stocks for attractive returns

Recession hazard is connected the minds of investors, peculiarly arsenic the Federal Reserve remains resolute successful hiking involvement rates.

In these pugnacious times, investors would beryllium good advised to find stocks that are positioned to navigate a imaginable economical downturn.

To assistance with the process, present are 5 stocks chosen by Wall Street's apical professionals, according to TipRanks, a level that ranks analysts based connected their past performance.

Chip elephantine Nvidia (NVDA) has been nether unit owed to the slump successful the PC gaming market. Revenue and net declined successful the fiscal 4th quarter compared to the anterior year, but the institution managed to bushed Wall Street's expectations owed to the year-over-year emergence successful information halfway revenues.

Investors cheered Nvidia's first-quarter gross guidance and CEO Jensen Huang's commentary astir however the institution is well-positioned to payment from the heightened involvement successful generative artificial quality (AI).   

Jefferies expert Mark Lipacis expects Nvidia's information halfway revenues to reaccelerate year-over-year beyond the archetypal 4th and turn 28% successful 2023 and 30% successful 2024, supported by higher AI spend. (See Nvidia Stock Chart on TipRanks) 

Lipacis said, "In opposition to INTC/AMD noting unreality inventory builds, NVDA discussed a affirmative H100 ramp (already crossing implicit A100 successful conscionable 2nd 4th aft launch), accelerating DC [data center] revs YY beyond C1Q23, and alluded to amended visibility and much optimism for the twelvemonth owed to expanding enactment astir AI infrastructure, LLMs [large connection models], and generative AI."

The expert views Nvidia arsenic a "top pick" pursuing the caller results, and reiterated a bargain rating. He raised the terms people for NVDA banal to $300 from $275.

Lipacis is ranked No. 2 among much than 8,300 analysts connected TipRanks. His ratings person been profitable 73% of the time, with each standing delivering a instrumentality of 27.6%, connected average.

Ross Stores (ROST) delivered upbeat results for the 4th fourth of fiscal 2022, arsenic the off-price retailer's worth offerings continued to pull customers. However, the institution issued blimpish guidance for fiscal 2023 owed to the interaction of precocious ostentation connected its low-to-moderate income customers.

Following the results, Guggenheim expert Robert Drbul, who is ranked 306^th among the analysts connected TipRanks, lowered his fiscal 2023 net per stock estimation for Ross Stores to bespeak the interaction of persistent macro headwinds.

Nonetheless, helium expects Ross Stores' net to instrumentality to double-digit maturation successful fiscal 2023, driven by a higher operating margin, the accelerated opening of caller stores and the company's stock buyback program.

Drbul reiterated a bargain standing for Ross Stores and a terms people of $125, citing "the favorable situation for the institution fixed greater proviso of branded goods successful the marketplace, stronger worth proposition, and broader assortment compared to pandemic levels."

Drbul has delivered profitable ratings 63% of the time, and his ratings person generated an mean instrumentality of 9.1%. (See Ross Stores Hedge Fund Trading Activity connected TipRanks)

Next connected our database is different user discretionary institution – Kontoor Brands (KTB), which owns the iconic Wrangler and Lee Brands. Shares of the covering institution rallied connected the time it reported coagulated fourth-quarter results and issued a beardown outlook for 2023.   

Williams Trading expert Sam Poser noted that the request for Wrangler and Lee continues to improve, fueled by the company's brand-enhancing initiatives. Further, helium thinks that Kontoor's fiscal 2023 outlook "will apt beryllium conservative." He expects the company's gross maturation successful China to crook affirmative successful the 2nd 4th and sequentially accelerate thereafter.

Poser raised his fiscal 2023 and 2024 net per stock estimates, reiterated his bargain standing for Kontoor Brands and accrued the terms people to $60 from $53. (See Kontoor Brands Insider Trading Activity connected TipRanks)

"The operation of amended than expected 4Q22 results, led by a 20% summation successful U.S. DTC [direct-to-consumer] revenue, ongoing improvements successful the positioning of some the Wrangler & Lee brands, and tenable guidance, are indicative of ongoing improvements successful KTB's user facing capabilities and its wide operations," said Poser.  

Poser is ranked 134^th among the analysts tracked by TipRanks. Further, 55% of his ratings person been successful, generating a instrumentality of 17.7%, connected average.

Fiserv (FISV), a supplier of payments and fiscal services exertion solutions, is besides connected our database this week. Last month, the institution announced its fourth-quarter results and assured investors astir being well-poised to present its 38^th consecutive year of double-digit adjusted net per stock growth, supported by caller lawsuit additions, coagulated recurring gross and productivity efforts.

Tigress Financial expert Ivan Feinseth noted that Fiserv continues to acquisition beardown concern momentum, acknowledgment to the show of its payments merchandise portfolio and the spot successful Clover, the company's cloud-based point-of-sale and concern absorption platform. (See Fiserv Financial Statements connected TipRanks)

"FISV's diversified merchandise portfolio and industry-leading exertion presumption it astatine the forefront of the ongoing secular displacement to physics payments and the increasing usage of connected devices to present outgo processing services and fiscal information access," said Feinseth. The expert reiterated a bargain standing for FISV banal and raised the terms people to $154 from $152.

Feinseth holds the 176^th presumption among much than 8,300 analysts tracked connected the site. Moreover, 62% of his ratings person been profitable, his ratings generating an mean instrumentality of 12.3%.

Workday (WDAY), a supplier of cloud-based concern and quality resources applications, issued a subdued outlook for fiscal 2024, which overshadowed better-than-anticipated results for the 4th fourth of fiscal 2023.

Baird expert Mark Marcon noted that Workday continues to summation marketplace stock successful quality superior absorption and fiscal absorption solutions successful the endeavor space, though its gait of maturation up is "slightly tempered by macro uncertainty."

Marcon besides noted that contempt elongated endeavor income cycles owed to macro pressures, Workday gained 7 caller Fortune 500 and 11 caller Global 2000 customers successful the fiscal 4th quarter. The expert said that the caller co-CEO Carl Eschenbach is "quickly making a people connected WDAY" and that the institution is expected to reaccelerate subscription gross maturation to the 20% level erstwhile the macro backdrop is normalized.

"While our near-term expectations are much muted, we judge the valuation comparative to the semipermanent imaginable continues to beryllium charismatic considering WDAY's precocious nett gross retention (over 100%), precocious GAAP gross margins, beardown FCF [free currency flow] and beardown maturation imaginable fixed financials moving to the cloud," said Marcon.

The expert somewhat lowered his terms people for Workday banal to $220 from $223 to bespeak near-term pressures. He reiterated a bargain rating, fixed the company's semipermanent maturation potential.

Marcon ranks 444^th retired of the analysts followed connected TipRanks. His ratings person been profitable 60% of the time, generating a 13.5% mean return. (See Workday Blogger Opinions & Sentiment connected TipRanks)